Oviedo rolls ahead, Apopka faces uphill climb after Day 1 at state bowling

One defending bowling state champion is rolling, while the other has some extra work to do.

Five-time boys state champ Apopka looked to be on cruise control in the first day of the FHSAA state finals Wednesday at Boardwalk Bowl. It qualified second for the 16-team Baker bracket and won its first two best-of-5 matches by 3-0 scores.

But Jupiter proved to be a worthy challenger in the winners bracket semifinals, edging the Blue Darters 3-2 and pushing the champs into the consolation bracket.

Stephen M. Dowell / Orlando Sentinel

Apopka's Ben Bailey and the Blue Darters will have to come through the losers bracket to win their sixth straight state championship.

Apopka's Ben Bailey and the Blue Darters will have to come through the losers bracket to win their sixth straight state championship. (Stephen M. Dowell / Orlando Sentinel)

“Sometimes it’s the luck of the carry,” Apopka coach Doug Campbell said. “We had six 9-counts in that fifth game while (Jupiter) carried.”

The Blue Darters will now have to win three matches in the consolation bracket and then defeat the remaining undefeated team twice to bring home a sixth straight crown.

“Two years ago we fought out of the losers bracket, so we know it can be done,” Campbell added.

Two-time defending girls team champion Oviedo, meanwhile, won three matches, even though the third one over Lincoln Park wasn’t easy.

And Costello would know as a past professional champion. She also knows her coaching limitations since in the regular season she coached both boys and girls. In the state finals, that’s nearly impossible.

“I was going crazy today (in qualifying) trying to do both,” she said. “So I got one of my former bowlers, Josh (Ramos), to help since each team needs that encouragement during a match.”

Ramos must’ve said the right things since he helped the boys secure one of those final two unbeaten spots after coming from behind against Seabreeze.

“They handled it well being down 2-1,” said Ramos, a 2016 Oviedo graduate. “After winning that fourth game they were confident and had four straight strikes to seal the win.”

The Oviedo boys will face Jupiter in the last winners bracket match, while the girls get Circle Christian, which was living on the edge in its final two matches. The Centurions needed to come back from a 2-1 deficit against Orange City University (which included a tie and two-frame roll-off) and Rockledge.

University defeated Space Coast in its first consolation bracket match to stay alive.

In the individual tournament, Patricia Rosales of Evans rolled games of 268 and 258 on her way to a four-game score of 983 to not only capture the top seed, but it was also the top score for boys or girls. East River’s Isabella Pohl was second headed into bracket play.

The top boys seed was Boone’s Jacob Hopper with a 943, while Hagerty’s Logan Furlong was the No. 2 seed at 926.

Check back for further updates on individual results from Day 1.

Pictures of Central Florida high school bowling practices and matches.